MASG chapter 165: Extra 5

◎ Mo An was still writing in his memo. When he heard Xia Yu’s voice, the electronic dancer in the sailor uniform pressed against his thigh and danced wildly. ◎

 

“Achoo!”

Xia Yu stood in the center of the shooting range and sneezed involuntarily.

“What’s going on? Did you suddenly catch a cold?” The person standing beside Xia Yu was Xia Xiaoxiao. As she spoke, she took off the head-mounted light-sensing device and exited virtual combat mode. “I told you, going to Frozen Island yesterday was too risky. At the very least, you should have waited until summer.”

Xia Yu rubbed his nose and smiled as if nothing were wrong. “I’ll just get an injection after I go back. How was your score just now?”

The Xiaoxiao in front of him was almost unrecognizable. She was no longer the long-haired younger sister from Penghu City or the fragile girl who had just been rescued from the laboratory. She had grown into who she was meant to be—a jellyfish gene-modified person who was 5 centimeters taller than him.

A year had passed since they had woken up, and Xia Yu and Xiaoxiao’s bodies had undergone tremendous changes. Xia Yu had developed from the appearance of a little boy into his 18-year-old self. What he looked like before, he now looked exactly the same as at that stage—fresh, delicate, with a clean and refreshing smile. 18-year-old Xia Xiaoxiao, on the other hand, had become a different person. She now had short hair cut to ear length and showed extraordinary talent in sports, shooting, and driving.

“I killed one hundred and twenty enemies in total. What about you?” Xia Xiaoxiao looked at her younger brother.

Growing up together had one advantage: they could walk the road they had come from all over again together. For Xia Xiaoxiao, the transition from not knowing her younger brother to developing deep feelings for him took only one year. She now knew what Xia Yu looked like in childhood, and also knew what he looked like during puberty.

“I’m a bit worse than you.” Xia Yu scratched his hair. “I only killed eighty-seven enemies…”

“Looks like your reaction speed still needs more training, little jellyfish.” Xia Xiaoxiao took pleasure in teasing her younger brother, ruffling his hair.

“That’s already pretty good. Jingwei said the guard team standard is fifty kills, and I far exceeded it—way, way exceeded it.” Xia Yu laughed. “When we went to Frozen Island yesterday, the whole place was covered in snow. It was frighteningly cold.”

“Then did you find 107?” Xia Xiaoxiao asked.

Just as she hadn’t understood her brother before, Xia Xiaoxiao’s knowledge of 107 was limited to their memories. She knew he was a gentle White Siren with amnesia, probably because they had both been imprisoned on Frozen Island for experiments, which gave her sympathy born of shared suffering.

But Xia Yu only shook his head and sighed helplessly. “No, he still hasn’t appeared yet. But…”

A long, thin face flashed before Xia Yu’s eyes.

Xia Yu gathered his courage again. “But I firmly believe he’s still alive.”

“Then keep searching. The ocean is vast, but it can eventually be searched! Today’s training ends here, one hour early. Go back and rest well. Come again tomorrow.” Xia Xiaoxiao encouraged him.

After training ended, they took a aircraft back to the middle level. As soon as they stepped down from the platform, Xia Yu was hugged by several little boys, with Little Nut leading the group.

“Xia Yu, you’re finally back! Tell us about the shooting range!” Little Nut jumped as he spoke. No matter how much he jumped, he still couldn’t look Xia Yu in the eye. When he first met Xia Yu, he hadn’t been this tall. Now, he was so much taller!

“Mm… The shooting range is very fun. When you grow up, you can go, too.” As their former child king, Xia Yu patted each playmate’s little head. “Grow up first, then we’ll talk.”

Those who came to pick them up included Yan Xia and Silver Fang. As soon as Yan Xia arrived, she threw a report to Xia Xiaoxiao. “My little girl, as expected, your pupil replacement application was rejected.”

“What are you trying to do?” Xia Yu was startled.

“Don’t panic first, listen to my explanation.” Xia Xiaoxiao said. “Look, Yan Xia’s pupils have auto-tracking functions…”

“My eyes were injured in battle, so I had to replace them. Otherwise, I would’ve gone blind.” Yan Xia shrugged. “Little girl, don’t be too curious.

“But Silver Fang changed many too.” Xia Xiaoxiao was very close to Silver Fang, like student and teacher, like friends.

Yet, on this matter, Silver Fang abandoned his usual supportive attitude. “That’s because I have very strong personal opinions. Don’t be influenced by me. Besides, Professor Wang already said it—your body can’t replace any mechanical parts or organs. Haha, no matter what you replace, a new one will grow back.”

“Damn it, I knew it.” Xia Xiaoxiao was a bit rebellious.

“Be good. The way you are now is already very good.” Yan Xia put an arm around her shoulder. “When I was your age, I liked chasing trends too. In a few years, you’ll settle down.”

“Fine, fine, I’ll behave.” Xia Xiaoxiao made a gesture of surrender.

Everyone chatted and laughed as they moved from the platform toward the central elevator. Xia Yu looked left and right as if waiting for someone.

Strange. Where was Mo An? He would come pick him up as long as he wasn’t busy. Where was he today?

“Xia Yu, Xia Yu.” Little Nut tugged on his finger at that moment.

Xia Yu squatted down and asked, “What is it?”

“Are you looking for Brother Mo An?” Little Nut grinned mischievously.

“That smile of yours has a problem. I need to interrogate you.” Xia Yu tickled his side. “Quick, where is Mo An? Is this one of your tricks?”

“Haha, it’s so itchy!” Little Nut laughed and hugged his arms. “All right, I’ll tell you. When I came down just now, I saw Brother Mo An at the bar on the 78th floor. He went to the bar! Only adults can go to that bar; children can’t!”

As soon as he said that, the other kids crowded around him, excitedly reporting what they had seen: “Yeah, yeah, we all saw it.”

“Mo An went to a bar? What would he do in that kind of place?” Xia Yu didn’t quite believe it, but he decided to take a look anyway. After entering the elevator, he pressed the button for Floor 78.

The bar was full of noise, so loud that Mi Dou covered his little bear ears.

“Why did we come here?” Mi Dou asked, raising his head.

“What?” Mo An couldn’t hear him.

“I said, why did we come here!” Mi Dou shouted.

“What did you say?” Mo An pointed to his ear.

Mi Dou pulled Mo An to a slightly quieter place. “Why did we come here? Xia Yu is about to come back. We should go pick him up!”

“No rush. They should still be here in half an hour.” Mo An still remembered today’s schedule. “Come on! Let’s go watch the electronic dancer!”

Mi Dou refused even more, shaking his ears hard. “What is there to see? Their dancing is so strange…”

“Lao Gui said some electronic dancers are very beautiful. After watching them, you can better understand human mate selection preferences. Xia Yu has half-human genes, so I have to see what he likes.” Mo An pulled Mi Dou back. “Come, I’ll treat you.”

The poor little mini bear was dragged away by his good friend, passing through the dreamy lights and crowd until they stopped in front of a black-and-gold stage. To avoid looking like first-timers, Mo An ordered two expensive cocktails.

“Is this good?” Mi Dou looked curiously at the bubbles in the glass.

“Try it.” Mo An himself did not drink. Mermaids digest alcohol relatively slowly in human form. All of his attention remained on the luxurious stage. With a click, he scanned his fingerprint.

The previously empty stage immediately projected a three-dimensional giant screen. A cute, petite electronic figure appeared before them—a soft, adorable young boy.

“Wow, exactly like the real thing.” Mo An sighed and stretched out his hand. His fingertips passed through the holographic image—obviously, he could not touch anything.

“Hello, welcome to Electronic Dancer Service. Please select an outfit for me. Thank you. Regular clothing is free. Upgraded clothing costs 2,000 points. Special clothing costs 5,000 points.”

While speaking, the electronic dancer twisted his hips; his tiny underwear covered almost nothing. Mi Dou could not bear to watch any longer, so he picked up his cocktail and left his seat. “Mo An, you watch by yourself. I’m going somewhere else to relax. After you’re done, come find me. We still have to pick up Xia Yu!”

“Don’t worry. I’m just looking around.” Mo An made a ‘no problem’ gesture.

He had seen this thing when he first arrived at the middle level. At the time, he thought it was just terrifying—how could people twist around on top of that? Later, Lao Gui told him that they were all artificial holographic images, not real people. Relying on the fact that he had more points than he could spend, Mo An started choosing outfits, and the result was truly…eye-opening.

The electronic dancer’s outfits were increasingly strange; some might as well not be worn at all.

But some were quite good-looking.

According to his taste, Mo An selected a water-blue sailor uniform that cost 5,000 points. Then, he ordered the dancer to start dancing. “All right, let me see what humans like.”

The moment he finished speaking, the holographic figure that had been standing on the stage originally jumped down in one leap and stood beside him!

Mo An immediately froze. Lao Gui never said this dancer would dance right beside him.

Meanwhile, Mi Dou tried to escape the noisy, walking forward with his head down. But this cocktail tasted really good with its sweet watermelon flavor. Perhaps because the drink was delicious, Mi Dou, who liked sweet flavors, sipped it little by little. He became absorbed in the alcohol and bumped straight into the person in front of him.

“Ah!” His forehead hurt. “Sorry, sorry!”

The person slowly turned around, and his height alone exerted an invisible pressure.

Unconsciously, Mi Dou stepped back and saw the bear ears on that person’s head. “You…you’re a bear too?”

“Did you do that on purpose, cute little bear?” The man lifted Mi Dou up with one hand, showing interest.

When Xia Yu walked into the bar, he was immediately struck by how noisy it was. Although the music had a strong, rhythmic beat, he was not used to it and could not accept it at first. To get used to the volume, Xia Yu did not go straight in. He wandered outside for a few minutes before slowly walking in and searching for Mo An in the crowd.

Mo An was easy to recognize. His height stood out, not to mention his long silver hair. After Xia Yu spotted him, he quickly approached. “Mo An! What are you doing?”

Mo An was still writing in his memo. When he heard Xia Yu’s voice, the electronic dancer in the sailor uniform pressed against his thigh and danced wildly.

Mo An turned around in an instant, with only one thought in his fish brain: it’s over.

[Author’s Note]

Mo An: How do I coax my wife? Waiting online, very urgent.